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Thu March 27, 2014

Study: Funding Master Plan Would Create Jobs

According to a new study, funding Louisiana's master plan for the coast will bring jobs and other economic benefits.

Arthur BelalaWikimedia Commons

A study commissioned by an environmental group says funding the state's multi-billion-dollar, 50-year plan for coastal protection and restoration would create anywhere from 109,000 to 212,000 permanent jobs while spurring the economy with billions in spending related to the projects.

The study by economist Timothy Ryan — former chancellor of the University of New Orleans — was commissioned by Restore Louisiana Now. That group was formed to support a south Louisiana levee board's lawsuit against oil, gas and pipeline companies. The suit says the companies should pay for damage the industry has done to coastal wetlands that serve as a natural hurricane buffer for New Orleans.

Ryan's study looks at two scenarios: funding the plan at the $50 billion level and at the $100 billion level.